Technology and the Environment DD's Eco Notes

I want to put an idea out there that I think is going to be very important to the long-term question of sustainability. The good news is that there's a catchy name for the idea, so hopefully it will stick around.

This idea originated with Steve Heller, one of the senior scientists here at Sun Labs. Steve's observation is that there are some major shifts that will (hopefully) happen that will get us a long way to sustainability, but that there are a very large number of small things that will have to happen as well. Steve realized that this sounds a lot like the popular "Long Tail" power curve that's suddenly ubiquitous, so he named it the Long Green Tail. .

In this case the horizontal axis are events or changes that result in lower energy usage or GHG emissions reductions, and the vertical access is the environmental or sustainability impact of those events. Like other power curves, there's a small number of changes that have a large effect, and a very large number of changes which each have a very small effect, but in aggregate can have a major impact due to the large number of them.

Under the left side of the curve you can expect to see events like major investments in alternative energy, shifts in the efficiency of the operating vehicle fleet, and efficiency gains in office buildings. Each of these events would represent a major stride toward sustainability. Although individuals are involved in these at various levels, they are more driven by a mix of technology, legislation (through laws, building codes, incentives, etc) and macro economics.

Under the right side of the curve (the Long Green Tail), there's a very large number of changes, each of which has a small impact by itself, but when you add them all up the total is important. This is the set of things President Carter was getting at in his now famous fireside chat about energy. It would include things like fixing that drafty window in the den, or remembering to get milk at the store and avoiding a separate trip out, or powering down the servers in a lab over a holiday. While its tempting to lump these together into categories like "everyone fix their drafty windows", the truth is that people have to actually make local decisions or change local behavior in order to bring these about.

For me, this is a critically important observation about tackling sustainability in a large corporation. In our small, central group we can identify and drive the major programs on the left side of the curve, but tackling Sun's Long Green Tail is a whole different story. This is about reaching out to the individual employees, helping people see the big picture, and making the seemingly insignificant, well, significant. Everything from goal setting to measurement to status tracking is different in the tail.

I wish I could conclude this post with a great observation of how Sun or other companies can be successful in the Long Green Tail, but I can't (yet?). Hopefully we'll have some successes in that space, and I'll try to make sure to blog about our attempts either way.

The last few weeks have been a string of sustainability conferences. While, in general, they have been excellent, there's still some rough edges so I can't resist poking some fun at them.

Q: What is the GHG emissions to make and ship a nylon briefcase or a canvas bag?

A: I don't know, but I've got 4 new ones with conference names on them if anyone needs one.

Q: If I emit 1 ton of CO2 traveling to an environmental conference, can I really offset it for $5?

A: According to the Chicago Climate Exchange you can (actually it's about $4.25), which defies all logic that I can apply to it (I believe their CO2 prices are absurdly low). Actually, carbon credits and offsets are the hottest topic at these conferences. Look for some upcoming posts where I try to tease things apart a little bit. In the meantime, here's a good discussion of offsets on Worldchanging.

Q: Didn't anyone read Marshall McLuhan?

A: Clearly some people missed his famous "The Media is the Message" pitch. About once a conference I get a 20 or 30 page glossy brochure, printed on non-recycled paper with inks that ensure that it won't be easily recycled in the future. These generally have 2 or 3 net pages of text and the rest is really cool nature pictures. You may be doing really good work, but its hard for me to take you seriously when that's how you choose to deliver your environmental message.

Q: What's a good target energy usage for an office employee?

A: I actually don't know right now. While lots of companies are making public commitments, few are actually willing to talk about the real details of where they're at. This seems like a simple question, but the lack of transparency makes it not so. Again, watch this space - more coming on this.

Q: At the current rate of growth, are sustainability conferences sustainable?

A: No comment :-)

If you're at all interested in climate change and its possible effects on the world, then spend some time reviewing the findings of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change issued by Sir Nicholas Stern, The UK's Head of the Government Economics Service and Adviser to the Government.

The presentation and speaking notes are easy places to start, but at least take a look through the table of contents of the 600 page report and get an idea of the scope and depth of what's presented here.

Even though they only account for 2% of global green house gas emissions, the United Kingdom and its government have made a strong statement with this report. Based on my visits and discussions with people there I know they are tuned into this issue way beyond most other locales. This report signifies their intention to take a global leadership role on this issue, and given this report I think many will find it a welcome one.